EXPRESSION OF CONCERN: The effects of melatonin administration on disease severity and sleep quality in children with atopic dermatitis: A randomized, double‐blinded, placebo‐controlled trial
Assessed by RV004 · Research Assistant
Assessed on 3 Nov 2025
OverallReviewer's overall integrity assessment, derived from all research questions Serious concerns
DOI 10.1111/pai.12978 (opens in new tab)
Resource ripekg:research-integrity-assessment/RIPEA4A841AC6ADD4DA5B
5 Research Questions · 33 Evidence Items
Q1.1 — Does the study have an associated retraction?
Rationale: No rationale provided
Supporting Evidence (1)
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
Melatonin administration lowers biomarkers of oxidative stress and cardio-metabolic risk in type 2 diabetic patients with coronary heart disease: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
10.1016/j.clnu.2025.08.014 (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 67384
Rationale: Concerns/Issues About Data;Concerns/Issues about Results and/or Conclusions;Investigation by Journal/Publisher;Investigation by Third Party;Objections by Author(s);Unreliable Results and/or Conclusions
About Authors: Zatollah Asemi, Vahidreza Ostadmohammadi, Fariba Raygan, Russel Reiter, Fereshteh Bahmani
Q1.2 — Does the study have an associated expression of concern or other relevant post-publication notice?
Rationale: No rationale provided
Supporting Evidence (1)
PubPeer ThreadSource: PubPeer.com — post-publication peer review comments
https://pubpeer.com/publications/890A101E577B4460EA1A74CF9C1035 (opens in new tab)PubPeer CommentSource: PubPeer.com — a platform for post-publication peer review
There are many concerns about the integrity of 172 publications by this research group, including this one. Some of the concerns are published 1. Anaesthesia 2020;75:1683–92, see Supplementary data. This paper is A164 2. Account Res 2020;28:149-61. 3. J Clin Epidemiol 2021;131:22-29. Journals and publishers were notified of these concerns in July 2019. 18 publications have an expression of concern, and 6 have been retracted. To our knowledge there has been no public response about any of the concerns. We think these publications are unreliable
Thread: https://pubpeer.com/publications/890A101E577B4460EA1A74CF9C1035 (opens in new tab)
Q1.3 — Do other studies by the research team highlight causes for concern?
Rationale: No rationale provided
Supporting Evidence (29)
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
Probiotic supplementation and the effects on weight loss, glycaemia and lipid profiles in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
10.1080/14647273.2024.2373595 (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 54767
Rationale: Concerns/Issues About Data;Concerns/Issues about Results and/or Conclusions;Concerns/Issues about Referencing/Attributions;Investigation by Journal/Publisher;Investigation by Third Party;Objections by Author(s);Unreliable Results and/or Conclusions;Upgrade/Update of Prior Notice(s)
About Authors: Mohsen Taghizadeh, Zatollah Asemi, Mehri Jamilian, Maryam Tajabadi-Ebrahimi, Maryam Karamali, Mohammad Memarzadeh
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
Effect of daily consumption of probiotic yoghurt on lipid profiles in pregnant women: a randomized controlled clinical trial
10.1080/14767058.2024.2364976 (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 67044
Rationale: Concerns/Issues About Data;Concerns/Issues about Results and/or Conclusions;Investigation by Journal/Publisher;Investigation by Third Party;Objections by Author(s);Unreliable Results and/or Conclusions;Upgrade/Update of Prior Notice(s)
About Authors: Zatollah Asemi, Ahmad Esmaillzadeh
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
Effect of multivitamin versus multivitamin-mineral supplementation on metabolic profiles and biomarkers of oxidative stress in pregnant women: a double-blind randomized clinical trial
10.1080/14767058.2024.2364977 (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 67046
Rationale: Concerns/Issues About Data;Concerns/Issues about Results and/or Conclusions;Investigation by Journal/Publisher;Investigation by Third Party;Objections by Author(s);Unreliable Results and/or Conclusions;Upgrade/Update of Prior Notice(s)
About Authors: Mohsen Taghizadeh, Zatollah Asemi, Mehri Jamilian, Mansooreh Samimi, Zohreh Tabassi, Fariba Kolahdooz
Q2.2 — Are there concerns relating to the timing or absence of study registration?
Rationale: No rationale provided
Supporting Evidence (2)
Clinical Trial RegistrationSource: Clinical trial registry (e.g. ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN)
Registration ID: IRCT2017082733941N12
Registry: IRCT
Registry Link: https://trialsearch.who.int/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=IRCT2017082733941N12 (opens in new tab)
Registration Date: 15 Oct 2017
Prospective:Whether the trial was registered before participant recruitment began Yes
Assessment Rationale:How INSPECT-AI determined the prospective registration status by comparing dates Comparison performed at month level. Registration: 2017-10, LLM Recruitment Start: 2017-11. Deemed prospective at month level.
Study Design EvidenceDates and timelines extracted by INSPECT-AI from the publication text
Recruitment Start: 11-2017
Recruitment Start Rationale:INSPECT-AI's reasoning for how it identified the recruitment start date Methods: 'from November to December 2017' is used as the recruitment start date, as no specific FPI date was found.
Recruitment End: 12-2017
Recruitment End Rationale:INSPECT-AI's reasoning for how it identified the recruitment end date No explicit recruitment end date found.
Study End: N/A
Study End Rationale:INSPECT-AI's reasoning for how it identified the study end date No explicit study end date found.
Overall — What is the overall integrity assessment of the study?
Rationale: There have been several concerns raised about the authors in many of their studies. The fact that they have not provided any explanation contributes to my serious concerns.